1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a rotary piston machine, which term includes an internal combustion engine, pump or compressor of either the type having a slant axis or precessing rotor or the type having a parallel axis rotor, the Wankel engine being an example of the latter type.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In either type of machine, the rotor carries a grid of seals which engage internal walls of the housing in which the rotor rotates and which define therein separated working chambers. The portion of the grid bounding each working chamber is usually formed from a plurality of apex seals spaced apart around the rotor axis in a general circumferential direction of the rotor and a plurality of peripheral seals spaced apart in a general direction axially of the rotor. Co-operating peripheral and apex seals are connected together at their adjacent ends by a connector often called a link block or bolt (and hereinafter called a "bolt") inserted into a socket in the rotor, the adjacent ends of the seals being slotted or abutted against the peripheral surface of the bolt.
As the apex seals change in their inclination to a radial plane as the rotor turns as a result of the outer edges of the apex seals "wiping" against the housing, the bolts must be permitted to rock in their respective sockets. To permit this rocking movement clearance must be provided between the peripheral walls of the bolt and its socket. A large clearance is desirable from the manufacturing aspect because substantial tolerances can be permitted. However large tolerances would cause uncertainty in the position of the point of contact between the bolt and the housing and this could result in undesirable load sharing between the rotor, the bolts, the seals and the housing. An object of the invention is to provide a seal arrangement in which substantial tolerances are permissible without said uncertainty as to the position of the point of contact of each bolt and its socket.